This invention relates to a building system and, in particular, to a building system comprising individual building elements connected together by connecting elements adapted therefor.
The invention relates to a building system comprising individual building elements, each element having an upper and a lower surface which are substantially parallel to each other and each building element having at least one opening extending from the upper surface to the lower surface, the building elements being such that they can be positioned on top of each other so that openings of different elements are aligned with respect to each other, and wherein a connecting element can be placed in each opening whereby a first building element belonging to it can be pressed to a second building element located immediately below the first building element, which connecting element of each first building element acts on the upper surface of that first building element and is connectable to the connecting element belonging to the second building element.
In the actual building systems the building elements or building blocks are positioned on top of each other whereby the building elements or building blocks can be connected to each other by different systems. In the most traditional system use is made of cement in order to connect two building elements which are positioned on top of each other or are put side by side. In other systems, commonly called quick building systems, use is made of liquid or paste-like glues in order to connect the building elements to each other. In these systems the building elements according to the preamble can be used as well, the openings being made either to reduce the weight of the building elements and improve the insulating characteristics, or to accommodate lines or the like, or to increase the active surface for the glue or the cement.
The known building systems all have the disadvantage that they are unsuitable for the unskilled man. During the placing of the building elements and the mutual connecting, the building elements must be positioned accurately with respect to each other and simultaneously they must be connected to each other. This requires the preliminary installment and positioning of adjusting profiles, a wire being stretched there between at the right level along with the next layer of building elements can be positioned and connected. The connection of the building elements requires the availability of a connecting agent such as cement or glue. The handling thereof is not always easy for the unskilled man, as specific requirements must be met with respect to the physical properties during its application, especially with respect to its viscosity. This all has resulted in the fact that the building of walls and the like is not done by the do-it-yourself man, but that as a rule the help of a skilled man is invoked to fulfill this task. Further, the traditional building systems as a result of the connecting means used have the disadvantage that the building height of a wall per time unit is restricted, as the connecting agent needs some time to harden and to obtain the required strength before additional height can be added. When afterwards a building made out of traditional building elements must be broken down, the renewed use of the building elements is generally impossible or labour intensive and therefore not very effective. The cement or the glue must be seen as waste whereas the building elements only partly and only with great efforts can be made suitable for renewed use. In most cases a substantial portion must be accepted as waste.
In FR-A-2.473.590 there is disclosed a building system as described in the preamble of claim 1. In this known system each building element is provided with grooves extending around the building element. When two building elements are placed on top of each other with the groove in the lower surface of the top element in line with the groove in the upper surface of the bottom element, a first connecting element can be provided having a strip-like shape with an upper and lower groove provided with holding means. A second connecting element can be snapped in the lower groove of the first connecting element and the upper groove of a lower first connecting element, thereby pressing together the different building elements. The second connecting elements are positioned in the portion of the grooves on the side walls of the building element.
This known system has the disadvantage that the connection between the different layers is made by so-called saw-teeth connections (ratchet teeth) allowing only very discrete positioning of the connecting elements, and thereof on irregular pressure distribution between the different layers of the building elements. As a result thereof it is somewhat unpredictable whether two super-imposed building elements have been pressed together with the required pressure to ensure a sufficient stability of the erected wall.
In FR-A-1.487.332 there is also described a system as disclosed in the preamble of the main claim. Herein the connecting element is formed as a bolt, one end being a threaded end and one and being shaped as a nut with greater cross-section. The vertical openings in the building element are shaped as bores and between the bolt and the wall of the bore an elastically deformable material has been provided.
Upon screwing one bolt on top of another already positioned inside a bore will the elastic material surrounding it, this elastic material is deformed and pressed against the wall of the bore. In this way the connecting elements or bolts are unified with the building elements, and this allows the different building elements on top of each other to be pressed together.
It might be possible to press two superimposed building elements together with a defined force but no information is given about that. Otherwise the fixation of the connecting element to each individual building element will generate important forces on the material of the building element. As these lateral forces generate tensions in the material of the building element it is highly susceptible to break, and thereby loosing the fixation. This is especially the case with building materials such as cement, which normally have a very low resistance against tension forces.
It is an object of the invention to provide a building system as elucidated in the preamble wherein the above mentioned disadvantages are avoided.
This object is achieved in that a deformation member has been applied between the lower surface of the first building element and the connecting element of the second building element, which is deformed by a first predetermined force, thereby inducing a stress in the connecting element of the first building element, and that each first building element is pressed with a second predetermined force to a second building element.
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following description and annexed drawings.
In general, the present invention comprises a building system comprising a plurality of individual building elements and connecting mechanisms. Each of the building elements has an upper and a lower surface which are substantially parallel to each other and at least one opening extending from the upper surface to the lower surface, each of said building elements being adapted for alignment with respect to an opening in another building element, each of said connecting mechanisms being dimensioned to fit within and extend through an opening in a building element, each of said connecting mechanisms interconnecting a plurality of associated building elements and a plurality of deformation members, said deformation members being positioned between a lower surface of a first building element and a connecting mechanism of a second building element, said deformation member being deformable by a predetermined force to induce a stress in said connecting mechanism of said first building element such that each of said first building elements is pressed with a second predetermined force to a second building element.
In an embodiment, the connecting mechanism may comprise a rod which has one end provided within an enlarged portion to enable it to rest on shoulders in the openings of the building elements. One end of the rod fixes to a building element and the other end has an enlarged portion that presses against an upper surface of another building element. The enlarged portion may have a threaded bore for accommodating a lower end of a rod of another building element and the upper and/or lower surface of the building elements has a cut-out for accommodating the enlarged portion of the rod. Additionally, the surfaces may have gutters ending in side walls through which rods can be positioned to connect gutters of associated building elements to form a lateral connection. Other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from a perusal of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.